Hospital bed



A. L. HURST HOSPITAL BED Se t; 24,1940.

Filed July 14,. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 uqlbeni D HLLPSL Maw W Patented Sept. 24, 1940 OFFICE HOSPITAL BED Albert LenwoodHurst, Winston-Salem, N. 0.

Application July 14, 1938, Serial No. 219,285

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in hospital or invalid beds.

An important object of the invention is to improve upon the construction shown in Letters Patent 2,105,040, issued to me under date of January 11, 1938. i

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable bed pan supporting unit,-mounted upon the spring bottom or mattress of the bed, and having its several parts properly balanced, so that there will be no tendency for the unit to tilt, when the same is not employed in the raising or lowering of the bed pan.

A further object of the invention is to provide a unit of the above mentioned character, which will be easy and convenient to be operated by the nurse or attendant.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure Us a perspective view of a hospital bed embodying my invention, t

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same,

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on line l4 of Figure 3, v

Figure 4a is a detail section taken on line la-4a of Figure 4,

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4, and,

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 3, parts omitted, showing a modification of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, a hospital bed is shown comprising a head l0, foot I I, and side rails l2, connecting the same. The bed further comprises a spring bottom including a frame l3, to which is attached a spring mattress or bottom [4, including links I5, having hooks H5 at their ends. These links are arranged in transverse and horizontal sets and are connected by coupling elements ll, receiving the hooks l6 therein. The spring bottom or mattress may be angularly adjusted, so that the patient may be supported at different angu lar positions, as is well known in hospital beds, and for this purpose the spring bottom is formed in a head section iii, an intermediate section l9, and a foot section 20. The foregoing is the construction of the conventional hospital or invalid bed.

section [9 of the spring bottom. This adjustable support comprises a casing 2|, including an upper rectangular frame 22, preferably formed of angle iron, and a lower rectangular frame 23, preferably formed of angle iron. These frames are rigidly connected by sheets or plates 24, which may be formed of sheet metal or any other suitable material, to provide a closed casing. Access is had to one side of the casing, at one side of the bed, by a door 25, supported at its lower end by hinges 26, as shown. The door 25 may be held closed by any suitable means, and links 21 may be employed to limit the outward movement of the door beyond the generally horizontal position. The door isarranged at the intermediate portion of the casing, near the upper end thereof, and is spaced from the lower end of the casing a substantial distance.

Mounted to move vertically within the casing 2| is a plug support 21, in the form of a rectangular frame, of angle iron or the like. This frame is adapted to be moved into the upper frame 22 to assume a position flush with the upper surface thereof and to be moved downwardly to a position adjacent to the lower end of the door 25, or somewhat below such lower end, so that access may be had thereto by opening the door. The frame 23 carries a plug spring bottom 28, similar to the spring bottom [4. Rigidly attached to the opposite ends of the frame 21 are L-shaped brackets 29, the vertical arms of which extend into the angle iron or frame 21 and are rigidly attached thereto. The horizontal arms of the L-shaped brackets 29 have flat portions 30, operating within vertical longitudinal slots 3|, formed in the sides 24, and slidably contacting with the walls of these slots. The L-shaped brackets extend through the slots 3| to the exterior of the casing 2| and are provided at their outer ends with vertical sleeves 32, which are internally threaded, for engagement with the screwthreaded portions 33' of vertical rods 33. These rods are disposed exteriorly of the casing 2| and in alignment with the central longitudinal axes of the slots 3| and the upper ends of these rods are free from threads and are rotatably mounted at their upper ends in bearings 34, rigidly attached to the upper frame 22, and at their lower endsin bearings 35, rigidly attached to the lower frame 23.

Extending through the casing 2|, adjacent to its bottom, and longitudinally of the casing and bed, is a horizontal shaft 36, journaled in bearings 31, rigidly attached to the bottom of the casing 2|, adjacent to its sides. The shaft 36 has bevel gears 38, rigidly mounted thereon and arranged exteriorly of the casing 2!. The bevel gears 38 are vertical and engage horizontal bevel gears 39, rigidly mounted upon the vertical shafts 33, near their lower ends. Rigidly mounted upon the shaft 36, at a point equi-distantly spaced from, its ends, is a worm wheel 49, in mesh with a worm 4|, carried by a diagonally arranged shaft 42. The shaft 42 is also equi-distantly spaced from the opposite sides of the casing 2|. This diagonal shaft has its opposite ends journaled in bearings 43, rigidly attached to the sides of the casing 2 l as shown. The end of the shaft 42 which is next to the door 25, is provided with a socket 44, preferably square in cross-section, for receiving the end of an operating rod 45, which end is also square in cross-section. This operating rod is therefore detachably connected with the diagonal shaft 42 and extends outwardly beyond the side of the bed, and is equipped with a crank 46.

The numeral 47 designates a mattress arranged upon the spring bottom M in the usual manner. This mattress is provided in its portion over the intermediate section IQ of the spring bottom, with an opening 48, for receiving a mattress plug 49, which rests upon the vertical movable frame 21, and may be attached thereto for movement therewith, if desired. The mattress plug, when in the uppermost position, has its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the mattress 41 and therefore forms a continuation of the mattress.

The operation of the bed is as follows:

With the plug frame 2i in the uppermost position, the mattress plug 49 forms, in effect, a continuation of the mattress 41, and the bed may be used in the ordinary manner. The presence of the plug and the means to raise and lower it, does not interfere with the angular adjustment of the head and foot sections l8 and 20 of the spring bottom. When it is desired that the patient use the bed pan or the like, the crank 46 is turned in a direction to cause the shafts 33 to be rotated for lowering the brackets 29. This downward movement of the brackets moves the plug frame 21 downwardly, in turn lowering the mattress plug 49. When the frame 21 has reached an elevation adjacent to the bottom of the door 25, the door is opened, and the mattress plug preferably removed from the frame 21 and the bed panplaced upon the frame 21. The crank 46 is then turned in a direction to raise the plug frame 21, which will elevate the bed pan and bring the same into a suitable position for use by the patient. The crank 46 is again turned to lower the bed pan so that it may be removed, subsequent to which the mattress plug 49 is again placed upon the plug frame 41 and this plug frame is again returned to the elevated position, the mattress plug again entering the opening in the mattress and assuming its position flush with the upper surface of the mat.

My present construction has, a number of advantages. By lowering the shaft 36 so that it is arranged adjacent to the bottom of the casing 2|, it is out of theway, and the door 25 may be arranged above the shaft 36. Hence access may be had to the casing 2|, near its upper end, and the unnecessary stooping of the nurse or attendant is avoided. When the operating rod 45 is separated from the diagonal shaft 42, all parts of the unit which are suspended from the bed bottom i 4 are substantially balanced, and there is no tendency for the unit to tip either longitudinally or transversely of the bed bottom and the frame 2! will therefore remain level, thus promoting the convenience of the patient.

In Figure 6, I have shown a modification of the invention. In this figure, the worm wheel 40 is arranged at one end of the shaft 36 and exteriorly of the casing 2|. The diagonal shaft 42 is positioned exteriorly of the casing 2i and carried in suitable bearings 43. The shaft 42 is equipped with the same worm 4| which engages the worm wheel 45]. All other parts of the apparatus remain identical with those shown and described in connection with the first form of the invention.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts, may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claim. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A bed including a spring bottom which is flexible, said spring bottom having an opening, a substantially vertical casing arranged beneath the spring bottom and having the marginal edge of its upper end attached to the marginal edge of the opening in the spring bottom, substantially vertical shafts disposed outwardly of the casing and mounted thereon and disposed substantially in a plane extending through the central vertical axis of the casing, a horizontal shaft arranged adjacent to the bottom of the casing and disposed substantially in said plane, a worm wheel mounted upon the horizontal shaft and substantially equidistantly spaced from the ends of the horizontal shaft, bearings for the horizontal shaft mounted upon the casing and substantially equidistantly spaced from the worm wheel, a diagonal shaft arranged within the lower portion of the casing and extending across the horizontal shaft, the diagonal shaft being arranged in a plane which passes through the central vertical axis of the casing and also disposed at substantially a right angle to the first named plane, the diagonal shaft having one end extending upwardly toward one side of the bed and having a socket formed in the upper end, bearings disposed upon opposite sides of the horizontal shaft and substantially equidistantly spaced from the horizontal shaft and receiving the ends of the diagonal shaft, a worm carried by the diagonal shaft and engaging the worm wheel, horizontal beveled gears mounted upon the lower portions of the vertical shafts, vertical beveled gears mounted upon the ends of the horizontal shaft and engaging the horizontal beveled gears, a plug frame for vertical movement within the casing, brackets secured to the plug frame near its opposite sides and having screw-threaded engagement with the substantially vertical shafts, and an operating shaft to be removably inserted within the socket to turn the diagonal shaft, all parts mounted upon the casing being substantially balanced so that the casing tends to hang vertical.

ALBERT LENWOOD HURST. 

